Business & Pleasure
by WorldOfTilt
Summary: Santana led what she considered a boring corporate existence, saddled with an impossible boss and only one friend, that is until she was gifted with an unexpected assistant who throws her for a bit of a loop. Repost from LJ.
1. Chapter 1

Santana Lopez wakes up this morning the same way she wakes up every morning: cranky.

"Dammit, stupid freaking alarm clock!" She screams as she hits, with unnecessary force, the off button on her long abused alarm clock. "I should throw you out! Huh, is that what you want? Me to throw you out with all the other garbage!"

The sound of her phone ringing distracts Santana from her alarm clock assault. "Crap where the hell is my phone?" Santana finds her phone under the covers at the foot of her bed, naturally.

"What do you want? No, it's not a good morning. What do you want? Yes, I yelled at my alarm clock again what are you psychic now Puckerman? What do you want? I'm free after work but only if it's on you. Good. Meet me outside my office at 7, Bye."

Santana finally makes it completely out of bed and heads to the bathroom. She uses the toilet, combs her hair, brushes her teeth, washes her face and applies mascara to her already long lashes. She trudges back to the bedroom and picks out one of many grey or black suits she owns for such occasions as work or funerals. Today feels like a grey day, she thinks while looking for a pair of stockings that don't have at least three holes in the feet.

"Ok let's see here, I am washed, dressed, I'm not fed or caffeinated that's ok, Starbucks was invented for a reason. I have keys, wallet, phone, and memo for boss-lady. Ok we are good to go." Santana walks the four blocks to the train station that leaves her two blocks away from the front door of her office (half a block from coffee).

Santana stares at the little TV in the corner of the elevator that tells her all the really depressing news that happened last night wondering how that is supposed to help worker morale. She walks into her office, sits and stares at the blinking voice mail button for a full minute. She then presses, with much hesitation, the voicemail button. And Santana Lopez's day has officially started.

"Hi Santana, it's Quinn. Your boss. I just wanted to let you know I am still here at the office, it's 8:36PM. I came to see if you were still around but you must have left early. Oh well. Just wanted to let you know we have a new hire. She will be working directly under you. She's coming in at 9AM sharp. She's yours to train."

"Son. Of. A. Bitch," Santana says to no one in particular. She rubs her hands up and down her face a few times thinking about how much she really hates Quinn. "Brush it off Lopez, let it slide." Her little pep talk over with, Santana takes a deep breath ignoring the nauseous feeling that arises when she realizes she hasn't even opened her inbox yet and starts off towards Quinn's office.

Santana harshly knocks on Quinn's office door. "Come in!" She hears in Quinn's gross sing-song voice.

"Hey Quinn, I got your message. I must have just, _just _missed you last night probably by like seconds. So anyway the new hire I assume she's going to be in the legal department if she's coming to me?" Santana fights the enormous urge to roll her eyes at her obnoxious entitled boss.

"You assume correctly Santana." Quinn says while standing up and walking around her desk to stand in front of Santana.

"Great. What exactly is her position?" Santana asks while taking note of the fact that in her heels she is almost an inch above Quinn.

"You will teach her the ins and outs of what our legal department does. She will be joining you as an assistant of sorts," Quinn smirks at the new information she just dropped on her least favorite associate.

"I never voiced my need for an assistant. I didn't know we were hiring someone," Santana wills herself not to get flustered in front of her least favorite boss. "It'll be nice to have someone to maybe do some filing or return some emails though."

"..."

"Right then. Ok, great chat Quinn. See you later." Santana crosses the threshold of Quinn's office when: "Oh, and Santana?"

_Sigh_. "Yes, Quinn?"

"Play nice," and with that Quinn unceremoniously slams her office door in Santana's face.

"Play nice, yourself! Play nice, I'll play nice while I kick your stupid little entitled ass all the way uptown," Santana mumbled to herself, walking back in her office.

Finally, settled back at her desk Santana is just about to open her inbox and tackle the surely hundreds of unimportant emails and ten or so important ones when her phone rings. "Oh come on. Just let me have fifteen minutes. Just fifteen. I haven't even put my bag away yet!" Santana once again says to no one inparticular while answering her phone.

"Santana Lopez. Hi, yeah I'll come right out and get her. Thanks."

Straightening her blazer and taking one last long swig of coffee, Santana makes her way out to meet her new...assistant? Protégé? Apprentice? "Oh, I like the sound of apprentice. It makes me feel like an old English bookbinder!" Santana is broken from her daydream by the longest, most muscular legs she had ever seen. "Holy Shit."

"Excuse me?" The young woman asked incredulously.

"Oh Shit. Sorry! Shit! Sorry! Oh gosh." Santana sighs and gives into defeat. "I'm Santana Lopez, associate counsel. I promise I don't usually swear like that it tends to be looked down upon here." Santana hung her head but forced herself to make eye contact for the handshake.

"Hi Ms. Lopez, I'm Brittany Pierce it's very nice to meet you, and I won't tell anyone you swore at me on the first day," Brittany said with a wink that Santana will later describe to Puck as "fucking sinful."

"Yes, Yes, thank you. No need for the Ms. Lopez though, just call me Santana. So can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, soda, water?" Damn this girl was beautiful, Santana thought.

"No thank you, I'm good Santana." Brittany waved her hand in front of her face as if swatting a bug away and laughing. "I was really nervous to start today so I got here super early. I've been sitting in Starbucks for like 45 minutes!" Brittany giggled nervously.

"I was just in there! We probably crossed paths and didn't even know it, how strange, I wonder how many times a day stuff like that happens?" Santana thought out loud.

"I know! I think about stuff like that all the time! Like how many people you pass by on a daily basis that might be someone important in your life, or could be? But today it happened with us! That's so cool!" Brittany's face lit up, "right?"

"Yes, definitely," Santana said with a laugh. "Ok, great. Let's go to my office, we can chat about what we'll be doing this week. Please after you," Santana ushered Brittany through the main doorway and instructed her to take her first right. Santana spent the whole walk taking in those long legs, which she was very pleased to find were attached to a very pert ass. Brittany's tight pink pencil skirt wasn't hurting that fact.

"Maybe today won't be so bad after all," Santana smirked to herself while following Brittany down the hall.

"So this is where I am," Santana pointed into her office, "let me call up to management to get you a chair in here, you can use the side of my desk for now as a work surface if you need it," Santana said.

"Are you sure I can use part of your desk?" Brittany asked.

"Of course, I am very good at sharing," Santana returned Brittany's wink from before.

Minutes later a comfortable looking chair was being rolled into Santana's office. "Excellent, ok now that we are settled, let's see what we can have you work on," Santana thought out loud, "I wish you could go through all my emails," Santana sighed.

"Well, I have really good research skills and I write pretty well," Brittany hoped this would prove helpful.

"That's great, because between you and me, writing memos is my weak link," Santana laughed at herself, "always has been, you can ask my legal writing professors."

Brittany laughed at Santana's joke, "well if I were you I wouldn't talk to my civil procedure professor, I'm sure she has just as many bad things to say about me as your writing teachers do about you!" Brittany and Santana were now openly laughing at their law school memories when Santana felt a cold wind coming through her office.

"Well, I see you two are getting along swimmingly." Quinn.

"Hi Quinn, I thought I felt you standing there," Santana rolled her eyes towards Brittany.

"Have you given Brittany any projects yet?" Quinn asked impatiently

"Of course I have, in fact Brittany was just telling me about her extensive writing and research skills that she is going to use while writing up a memo for you about the Schuster case," Santana smiled sweetly.

"Great, I expect it on my desk by tomorrow at 10am, understood Brittany?"

"Yes, Ms. Fabray," Brittany answered nervously

"Understood Santana?

"Yes, Ms. Fabray," Santana deadpanned as Quinn walked away. Santana and Brittany burst out into laughter once again.

"Oh my gosh, is she always like that?" Brittany asked between giggles,

"Unfortunately, yes. Didn't she interview you?" Santana questioned.

"No, Mr. Chang did, he was really nice, he said I didn't even need a call back," Brittany beamed.

"Wow, that's great, they made me do like three rounds of call backs," Santana shook her head.

"Well I guess I should get started writing this memo, huh? Can you give me background and what to look for, please?" Brittany asked, her nerves finally setting in.

"Of course, I'll help you. It's your first project here. I actually started the memo last night, it's in my bag." Santana rummaged around in her purse, "Ok here you go, I've already written the background info and outlined the questions that need to be addressed. So if you can just start looking up some case law about teachers acting inappropriately with students in and out of a classroom that would be really helpful," Santana smiled while handing Brittany the memo.

"Wow, thank you so much. Is there a library or a computer station somewhere I can use?" Brittany stood up.

"Oh damn, well we have a law library but I don't think it's been updated since the last time Quinn genuinely smiled, so like 1990."

Once again the two women burst out into a fit of laughter, "you are going to get me in trouble on my first day if you keep saying stuff like that," Brittany wagged a finger at Santana.

"I'll take the fall. Quinn will blame me anyway. You can use my computer for now. I'll call up to management again and have them set up another computer and a desk in here, you don't mind sharing an office with me do you?" Santana worried.

"Of course not! I am very good at sharing also. But shouldn't you not want to share an office with an assistant," Brittany questioned.

"No, I don't mind. It gets pretty lonely in here it'll be nice to have someone to chat with. Or if nothing else at least when I talk to myself it will seem like I'm talking to another person," Santana shrugged and called management.

The desk and computer wouldn't be ready until the next day, so Brittany got to work on Santana's computer, while Santana quickly skimmed her email on her phone and replied to the few important emails knowing the rest could wait until tomorrow. A short while later, Santana settled into her small office couch quietly reviewing some briefs while Brittany performed her research a few feet away.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of hours later Santana was hungry and really tired of reading about her creepy client Will Schuster. "Hey Brittany, want to go get some lunch. My treat, in celebration of your first day," Santana offered.

"Really? Yeah, that would be great," Brittany replied.

"Ok, great let's sneak out before Quinn yells at us for eating," Santana joked.

They walked to a busy restaurant filled with suits and skirts and ties and attitude. They both stopped and looked at each other questioningly. "So I was going to take you to this place because it's really fancy and this is where we are supposed to eat, but how about we skip this scene and go get some pizza around the corner," Santana hoped Brittany would approve.

"Yes! Thank you, I do not fit in here. Pizza is more my thing," Brittany answered.

"Excellent, me too." Santana smiled as they slowly backed out of the restaurant.

"Hiya John!" Santana greeted the pizzeria owner.

"Santana Lopez! My best customer! How's that evil bitch of a boss treating you?"

"Like shit! John, this is Brittany my new co-worker, she's awesome. Give her whatever she wants any day and put it on my tab, you got it?" Santana warned.

"Ohh you must be something special Brittany, Santana is never this nice to anyone," John said laughing.

"Shut it John. Give me one supreme slice please and an iced tea. I'll go get a table, Brittany get whatever you want," Santana called over her shoulder.

"Hi John, may I please have a plain slice and a water?" Brittany asked sweetly.

"Coming right up beautiful, go sit down I'll bring them out," John nodded his head toward the back seating area.

Brittany found Santana in a small booth in the back of the room checking her phone. "Thank you for the pizza, I do feel bad putting stuff on your tab though. You didn't have to do that," Brittany said.

"I know I didn't, but I know you are going to be helping me immensely at work and Quinn will probably make us both work horrible hours and so the least I can do is make sure you are fed," Santana reasoned.

Brittany conceded. John came by with their food and told Brittany a funny story about Santana having to borrow a shirt from one of the waiters a few years back when she dropped a whole slice down the front of her white blouse. John left the girls alone while they ate their pizza in comfortable silence. Every once in awhile Santana would uncharacteristically glance up and give Brittany a shy smile, which was rewarded with the same. Their quiet lunch lasted only ten minutes before Santana's phone rang.

"Hey Puck, what's up? No, I'm not drunk, it's like 1:30. Is it a crime to sound happy? I didn't think so. What can I do for you, you aren't bailing on me tonight are you? Where did you meet her? Ugh, Puck, really you met her at the garage? You are insufferable. Fine, bring her along. I'm bringing someone also. Hold on. Hey Brittany, do you have any plans for tonight? Good, wanna come get a drink with me, my friend Puck and his girl of the week? Excellent. Hey Puck, I'm back. Yeah, I'm bringing my new co-worker Brittany. You are still paying. See you at 7, bye."

"That was Puck, he's been my best friend since we were kids. You know that really famous garage down on 10th avenue? That's his, it's awesome. It's like the best motorcycle repair place in the city," Santana bragged a bit. "I'm sorry to put you on the spot, you don't have to come if you don't want to by the way," Santana hoped Brittany would still come, but she realized the suddenness of it all.

"No, I said yes, plus I want to meet Puck now and his girl of the week," They finished their pizza and slowly made their way back to the office.

Brittany and Santana worked diligently for the rest of the day, cranking out a pretty decent memo according to Santana. Just in spite of her, Santana and Brittany went to give Quinn the memo before they left, instead of waiting till morning.

Santana harshly knocked on Quinn's door."Come in," Quinn yelled from behind her closed door.

Brittany and Santana strolled in, Santana with a smug look on her face. "Hey Quinn, Brittany here did an amazing job on the Schuster memo so here it is," and dropped it on Quinn's desk.

"Well, I will have to read it before I decide how well it was done, but I certainly appreciate the timeliness Brittany," Quinn said with no emotion.

"Thank you Ms. Fabray, I hope you find it satisfactory," Brittany bowed her head.

"So do I," Quinn replied.

"Great, see you tomorrow Quinn," Santana quickly pushed Brittany out of the office before Quinn could respond. The two women dashed down the hall back into Santana's office shutting the door behind them.

"Oh man, I am going to need blood pressure medication I ever have to deal with her alone," Brittany whined.

"Nah, it's ok I have lots of practice dealing with Quinn. I'll be your buffer, plus there are a couple of other cool people who work here, I'll introduce you tomorrow" Santana assured Brittany, "ok let's bounce, Puck and his lady friend should be downstairs."

True to his word Puck was standing outside Santana's building at 7pm sharp. He waved at Santana through the front door as she and Brittany made their way out.

"Hey San, this is Rachel. Rachel this is my best friend in the entire world, Santana Lopez, she's a big shot lawyer!" Santana laughed at Puck's gesture and shook Rachel's hand.

"Hi Santana, I am Rachel Berry. I teach music at the High School right around the corner from here. Congratulations on your law degree and subsequent passage of the bar exam. My cousin is a lawyer who constantly complains about the bar even though he took it years ago," Rachel concluded.

"Yeah, it's a bitch," Santana, Puck and Brittany all laughed.

"Right, well shall we get going?" Rachel started walking.

"Really Puck, that is who you picked up? You are losing your touch bro," Santana laughed, the three of them racing to catch up with Rachel.

At the bar, Santana out of breath, from speed walking, finally introduced Brittany to Puck, "Puck, this is Brittany. She's awesome. Don't hit on her," Santana gave a huge fake grin.

"Dude, low blow. Hi Brittany, I am Noah Puckerman, you can call me Puck. It is a pleasure to meet you. Santana sucks," Puck off ran to Rachel.

"Wow, this is going to be an interesting night," Brittany gently pushed past Santana and walked into the bar.

Santana found Brittany, Rachel and Puck at a table in the back, already ordering a round of drinks. Santana slid into the booth next to Brittany trying to ignore the near constant chatter coming from Rachel. "So, as I was telling Noah, when we met earlier I am buying my father a motorcycle for his 65th birthday and I wanted it customized with Barbara Streisand's picture on the front fender.

"Wait, why would your dad want..." Santana was quickly cut off my Puck who gave her a pleading look and explained that Rachel had two fathers, one of whom was obsessed with Streisand and to "fucking drop it, Lopez," Which she did, once the drinks came five minutes later.

"So Brittany, how do you know Santana?" Rachel asked.

"I work under her," Brittany answered suggestively while finishing her first drink in record time.

Rachel looked horrified, while both Puck and Santana looked more than a little turned on. Santana snapped out of it to find Puck staring at Brittany with lust. "I'm warning you Puck. Look. Away." She said through tightly clasped teeth. Santana downed the rest of her first drink, grabbed Brittany's hand and dragged her to the bar.

"Next round is on me what would you like," Santana asked Brittany while trying to get the bartender's attention.

"Whatever we just had. I liked it," Brittany answered.

Santana ordered four more drinks, not caring that Puck and Rachel weren't done with their first. The four of them made some more small talk for the next hour or so before Rachel informed Puck that she "must be taken home at once because I need my beauty rest and adherence to a strict schedule is paramount for success in life."

With that Puck, Brittany and Santana chugged the rest of their drinks and got up to leave. Puck literally threw Rachel on the back of his motorcycle to drive home while Brittany and Santana made their way down to the train.

"What train do you take," Santana asked while swiping her Metrocard.

"The R, you?"

"Me too. What stop?"

"Union." Brittany answered

"How funny, we are one stop away from each other! Such a small world."

Their train came as soon as they walked down to the platform, they were lucky enough to get two seats together. They spent the short train ride discussing general background information. Growing up, parents, schools, hobbies. Not before long it was Brittany's stop.

"Thanks so much for a great first day, it really made me feel comfortable. I promise to do good work for you," Brittany smiled, "and to not charge too much pizza to your tab!" Brittany added while jumping out of the train. "See you tomorrow!" she yelled to the now closed train doors. Santana just laughed and waved, catching her reflection in the train doors and noticing a very large smile upon her face.

Santana Lopez woke up this morning a different way then she wakes up every other morning: happy.

She hits, with only moderate force, her alarm clock not once raising her voice to it. When her phone rings, it is sitting patiently on her nightstand as it should be. She answers with a chipper tone to her voice and doesn't get mad when Puck asks if she "got some last night."

"No, Puckerman, I did not. I just had a good night sleep and woke up feeling refreshed and excited to start my day. No, I'm not high. You are killing my sober buzz, what's up? Yeah she was really annoying, like punch her in the face annoying. Did you sleep with her? Oh thank goodness. HA she rejected your sorry ass didn't she? Yeah she did. That's ok. No Brittany did not need to reject my ass since I did not try and make a pathetic play for her pants. She works for me Puck, I like my job. Yes I know she has killer legs. She winked at me yesterday and it was fucking sinful. But I am a professional. Ok thanks for the morning chat, I can't tonight I have grand plans to do laundry. I'll talk to you later, bye."

Santana hung up and made her way into the bathroom to start her morning routine. She stopped by Starbucks on the way in and saw a now familiar head of blond hair standing in line. "Morning Brittany!" Brittany turned around and waved at Santana.

"Hi Santana! How did you sleep?" Brittany asked cheerfully, before turning around to place her order.

"Very well, you?" Santana asked.

"Great actually, hey what are you getting?"

"Grande soy misto, please," Santana answered and went to hand Brittany some cash.

"Nope, I know you don't want me buying your coffee but I am just this once so you're just going to have to live with it." Brittany turned back to the barista and paid her bill.

"Thank you. Come on, let's get upstairs before Quinn's head explodes," Santana partially joked.


	3. Chapter 3

The new desk and computer had already been set up in Santana's office by time they got in. They both got about four minutes to get settled at their respective desks before Santana's phone rang.

"Santana Lopez. Hi Quinn. Sure we will be right there."

Santana sighed, "come on, her highness is requesting our presence in her office immediately." They made their way down to Quinn's office, the door already open.

"Ahh great, ladies please come in and have a seat," Quinn said in an almost nice tone. They each took a chair opposite Quinn's desk and waiting to see what would come out of her mouth next. "So, I read your memo last night Brittany. I have to say I am very impressed with your writing skills. The format was proper, your language was persuasive and assertive. You make excellent arguments for Schuster's case and your conclusions were relevant and applicable." Quinn paused.  
"Thank you so much. I," Brittany was cut off by Quinn.

"I'm not done. However, the opening factual analysis of the case could use some more meat. Further, the questions posed are too wordy and lack finality. Now I am finished." Quinn nodded.

"Ok, thank you very much. Your points are well taken and I will be sure to apply your suggestions to my memos in the future." Brittany hoped this would be a sufficient answer for Quinn and she would be able to go back to the safety of Santana's office.

"Brittany, did Santana help you at all on this memo?" Quinn asked while narrowing her eyes are Santana.

"Yes, she supervised me and answered some questions I had on Mr. Schuster's background. Plus she was very helpful in helping me frame my argument for the second question. She also gave me suggestions about making the conclusion more persuasive than I originally had it," Brittany finished hoping she was able to both praise Santana but not make herself seem less worthy of the previous praise.

"Very well, is that all true Santana?"

"Yes, Quinn." Santana couldn't believe how much credit Brittany had given her. She had never come across a more honest and willing co-worker.

"I am pleased with the work you both did on this memo. I am giving you another new client, it's Mr. Chang's wife, Tina. It's a big case. Auto accident. She's ok, but you know Mr. Chang. He wants the other guy's head. Write both myself and Mr. Chang a memo outlining Mrs. Chang's options. As we speak I am having Finn and Sam bring the boxes of paperwork into your office, I've already had them write up the facts for you. I need the memo in Mr. Chang's hands by 9am tomorrow morning that's when we will all be meeting with the parties." Quinn finally stopped speaking and gave Santana an almost unnoticeable smile.

Santana and Brittany walked back to their office in silence. Santana because she knew how much work she had ahead of her tonight and Brittany because she couldn't even begin to imagine.

Their office was filled with about a dozen boxes of paperwork that needed to be sorted through. "Ok, we need a game plan," Santana started, "will you read over the facts Finn and Sam left? Then let me know if you see any issues that we can work off of. I am going to start going through the boxes looking for a starting off point. After you finish that, start on a box, they are numbered so just take whichever one is after the one I will be on. Once we get through the paper we can bust out an awesome memo, like we do. Right!" Santana tried to pump them up.

"Right!" Brittany replied. They had about 22 hours to get the memo written, "I hope you are excited for your first all night-er." Santana gave Brittany an apologetic look and got to work.

By 10:30 that night they had finally gone through all the paperwork. Santana had "a hundred fucking paper cuts" and Brittany was "so hungry, so very very hungry," Santana made a phone call and twenty minutes later a pizza and two very large coffees were delivered right to their office door by a smiling John.

They devoured the pizza and took a short break for Brittany to call her neighbor to check on her cat. They had their memo outlined by 2:00AM. "Gosh Santana, do you do this often. I don't think I'll make it til tomorrow," an exhausted Brittany said to Santana who although had done this before never got used to it.

"It's almost over Brittany, just a few more hours. After the meeting tomorrow morning we will lock ourselves in here for a few hours and get some sleep. You are doing an amazing job. We just need to write it now, that's the easy part!" Santana tried to pump them up once again.

Brittany typed while Santana dictated and worked through the arguments out loud. It was 6:30, the sun was just coming up and the memo was hot off the printer. "Excellent job!" Santana gave Brittany a high five. "We have two hours to nap. You take the couch, I'll sleep in my chair. I do it all the time," Santana motioned to Brittany to take the couch and the assistant did not protest. Santana set her phone alarm for 8:30AM and they both fell fast asleep.

Santana's phone alarm went off scaring the crap out of her and Brittany who flopped off the couch with a thud. "Son of a...where am I?" Brittany looked around while wiping the sleep from her eyes.

Santana tried not to laugh but the sight before her was too cute. She let a small giggle slip out of her mouth and stood up to stretch. "Morning Brittany, how do you feel?" Santana asked while searching her desk drawer for some mouthwash.

"Ugh, crappy. You?" Brittany pulled herself off the floor and back onto the couch, pulling down her hoisted up skirt, at which Santana did a very good job at pretending not to notice.

"Here, take a swig of this and let's get going," Santana handed Brittany the mouthwash and she did as she was told, reluctantly spitting the contents of her mouth into the garbage can like Santana did. They made a quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up and brought their memo to Quinn's office, placing it on her desk at 8:52AM.

"Cutting it a little close aren't we ladies," Quinn smirked.

"We got it done before the meeting, that's all that matters," Santana answered back too tired to care if she was giving her boss more attitude than she should.

"You better hope Mr. Chang thinks your ideas are good otherwise it's your ass Lopez," Quinn gave Santana a dirty look and walked out of the room.

"These things last for hours. We just need to sit there and be alert if Mr. Chang has any questions on the memo. We can do this," with that Santana and Brittany put on their game faces and went to the meeting.

Four hours later they emerged. "That fucking sucked," Brittany moaned, "I am so tired, Santana. I'm sorry. I don't think I can even stand up right now." Brittany leaned into Santana bracing herself on her bosses shoulder.

Santana smiled, "come on Brittany, let's get back to the office and take another nap." The meeting had gone fairly well. Both Santana and Brittany answered some questions Mr. Chang had about the memo, he ended the meeting with a compliment thrown their way which displeased Quinn very much.

Santana dropped Brittany on the couch and locked the office door. She set her phone alarm for four hours and fell asleep in her chair.

Santana's alarm went off once again. It was 5PM when Santana woke up. She looked around but only saw an empty couch. "Hopefully she went home, I should have just sent her home." Santana shook her head.

A few minutes later Brittany walked into the office holding a bag of what Santana thought looked like Chinese food and two very large coffees, "Hi! I woke up about twenty minutes ago and was starving so I figured you would be also. So I got coffee and dinner!" A clearly refreshed Brittany started placing the food on Santana's desk. Santana was so grateful for the food she didn't even thank Brittany before digging in. They are in silence and chugged their coffee. Finally Santana managed out a thank you.

They took the train home together again, Santana getting off at Brittany's stop to walk the extra ten blocks.

"Do you have plans for tonight," Brittany asked Santana as they turned the corner to her block.

"Nah, I was supposed to do laundry last night so I guess that's what I'm doing tonight, you?" Santana shrugged.

"I have to do laundry also, where do you go? I go to the Suds-A-Lot on the Avenue." Brittany explained.

"That's where I go!" Santana was surprised, she was sure she would remember seeing someone like Brittany there. "Want to meet up in about a half hour?"

"Yes! This is so fun! See you there." Santana watched as Brittany bounded up the stairs to her apartment building. She continued her walk home thinking about how different she has felt these last couple of days.

Brittany was already at the laundromat by time Santana got there, she was just putting her final quarters in the washing machine when she spotted Santana. "Hi!" Brittany waved, "I saved you a machine next to mine," Brittany opened the door for Santana who thanked her and put her laundry in.

"So what do you usually do while you are waiting for your laundry?" Brittany asked Santana once they were both seated in the waiting area.

"I usually read stuff for work or if I don't have to do that I listen to music or surf the Internet, you?"

"Well until about two months ago I was studying for the bar, so I would probably be reviewing Evidence notes or something equally horrific." Brittany made a scary face that caused Santana to giggle. "But probably just listen to music or play on my phone also," Brittany concluded.

They sat around waiting for their laundry to wash while watching videos of Brittany's cat she had on her phone. Santana couldn't believe sitting in a laundromat watching cat videos with a coworker would make her feel so content, but it did and she wasn't in a place to question that.

They had finished putting their stuff in the dryers when Santana's phone rang. "Hi Puck, doing laundry. We pulled an all night-er last night, it fucking sucked man. Yes, we, Brittany had to stay also. Well she's kind of right here. We are doing laundry together. No, she lives right near here so it just made sense. Shut up. Fine, hold on. Hey Brittany, Puck wants to know if you are up for drinks again tomorrow night with him and Rachel. Great. Ok meet us in front at 7, bye." Santana put her phone away and went back to laughing at cat videos on Brittany's phone.

The next day was fairly uneventful. Quinn left them alone, Santana made it through all her emails and Brittany finally got to meet her other co-workers. She had briefly met the interns, Finn and Sam when they brought all the boxes in the other day. She met Kurt the office manager who told her she had legs like a Thoroughbred racehorse, which Santana assured her was a compliment, and Mercedes the in house accountant.

At a few minutes to 7, Santana and Brittany made their way to the elevators. As soon as their doors started to close they heard Quinn's voice, "hold it please!" Santana quickly made to hit the door close button, but Brittany swatted her hand away and hit the door open one.

"Thank you," Quinn said while stepping in between Brittany and Santana. They rode down in silence, Santana just praying that Quinn walked the other way and didn't try to introduce herself to Puck and Rachel.

Santana let Quinn out of the elevator first, hoping she would just go on her way and not pay attention to where they were going. Unfortunately, Puck didn't get the memo and was standing at the big glass front doors making faces and yelling for Santana and Brittany. Quinn turned around with a cocked eyebrow, "does he belong to you Santana?"

"I suppose, although he is clearly off his medication today," Santana bit back.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Santana would have done a spit take if she were drinking something. "That would be a resounding no," Santana shook her head and walked out behind Quinn, Brittany following.

"Well are you going to introduce me to your friends?" Quinn started making her way over to Puck and Rachel.

"No." Was all Santana managed before she heard Quinn introducing herself.

"Hello, I am Quinn Fabray. Santana's boss and who might you be," she stuck her hand out to Puck who shook it with a skeptical look on his face.

"I'm Noah Puckerman, Santana's best friend. This is Rachel Berry, my friend I guess..." Puck trailed off not even noticing that Quinn had completely sidestepped him and was now holding Rachel's hand in both her own.

"Hello there, Rachel was it? You are beautiful." Rachel blushed and for the next five minutes Quinn and Rachel flirted openly and without abandon. Santana, Brittany and Puck all stood with their mouths hanging open not quite believing what was happening in front of them.

"Shit, Puck did you just see the headless horseman, is this a sign of the Apocalypse. I think Quinn just smiled," Santana stared in awe. "Brittany, don't look straight at it. You will turn to stone," Santana put a hand up to shield Brittany's eyes.

"Did you have plans for this evening Rachel?" Quinn asked, still holding onto Rachel's hands.

"The four of us were supposed to go out for drinks, I would be honored if you joined us," Rachel blushed again.

If it weren't for Brittany instinctively putting a hand over Santana's mouth she surely would have let out a string of expletives and sounds that no person should ever say in the presence of, let alone directed towards, their boss.

Quinn accepted Rachel's invitation and the five of them walked to their usual bar a few blocks away.

"What. the. fuck." Santana mouthed to Puck as they walked slightly behind Quinn and Rachel.

"I have no idea dude, I mean I'm glad it gets me off the hook with Rachel but it makes me feel weird," Puck shivered.

"Well here we are," Rachel told Quinn and she held the door open for only Quinn, essentially shutting it in Puck's face when he went to walk through.

Santana, Brittany and Puck found Quinn and Rachel snugged into one side of a booth, so the three of them awkwardly squished into the other side after much debate by Puck that he should be allowed to sit in between the two women. He ended up on the inside next to Santana.

Santana finally got Quinn and Rachel's attention long enough to say she was buying the first round, when Quinn dismissively waved a hand saying, "nonsense Santana, I make way more than you do. The whole night is on me. Rachel, you can have whatever you want," which caused Rachel to blush for the third time in fifteen minutes.

Santana, Brittany and Puck set a record for how fast they downed their drinks. They were trashed before Quinn and Rachel could even start their second drink. Not like it mattered anyway, Quinn and Rachel were in their own little world.

Santana, Brittany and Puck decided they had enough of the show and left the bar without saying goodbye.

"It wouldn't matter anyway," Santana reasoned to Brittany, "they weren't paying attention to anyone but each other. Quinn probably won't even remember we were at the table with them."

Puck was way too drunk to drive his motorcycle home so he left it parked by Santana's building and took the train home with them.


	4. Chapter 4

When they got back to Santana's place Puck immediately went into Santana's room and came out in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt he always had at Santana's place. Santana did the same and came out with a set for a very thankful Brittany.

"These high-heels, I don't know how you do it Santana. They wreck my feet. And the shirts. They are so constricting," Brittany drunkenly started unbuttoning her shirt.

"Holy shit," Puck drooled out.

"Hey, Britt, Hey Stop!" Santana ran over to stop Brittany's hands from going any further.

"What Santana? I'm changing," Brittany argued.

"Yes, yes you are but let's do it in my room, ok?" Santana pulled Brittany up and pushed her into her bedroom all while giving Puck a very dirty look.

"Don't get mad at me. I was just an innocent bystander!" Puck yelled from the couch.

Santana sat Brittany on the bed and told her to take her time changing. She went back out to sit with Puck who was channel surfing and eating Santana's secret stash of double stuff'd Oreos.

"I hide them in a different place every week! How do you always find them?" Santana angrily grabbed the package away from Puck.

"Dude, it's not my fault you are a bad hider. I mean, on top of the fridge, really Sherlock?" Puck laughed and grabbed the package back. They ate their Oreos in silence for a few minutes before Puck realized, "You know, she's been in there about ten minutes. Don't you think you should check on her? She's super drunk."

"Fine, I guess she won't be much help to me at work on Monday if she has alcohol poisoning." Santana lightly knocked on her bedroom door, no answer. She slowly opened the door not wanting to catch Brittany in a state of undress. Too much. The room was dark but she could make out Brittany passed out under the covers. Santana opened the blinds next to the bed just a little so she could see Brittany better. She had changed into the sweats Santana left her, her work clothes strewn across the dresser and nightstand. Santana made sure Brittany was breathing regularly, then placed a glass of water and tylenol on the night stand.

"Sleep well Britt," Santana quietly closed the door and joined Puck on the couch for some t.v.

"So, she's passed out in my bed," Santana said a few minutes later her eyes not leaving the t.v.

"Oh man, that's so hot," Puck answered, also not moving.

"It's not hot asshole. She's really drunk. This is going to be awkward in the morning. We've only known each other for a couple of days," Santana sighed.

"Yeah. but you've spent like that whole entire time together. You guys have some weird ass soul-mate shit going on. Plus, she's fucking hot as hell," Puck closed his eyes remembering the beautiful few seconds of watching Brittany unbutton her shirt.

"Stop picturing her unbuttoning her shirt!" Santana slapped his arm.

"Ok, ok. Damn, down girl. I'm tired. I'm sleeping on your couch. Have fun in the bedroom," Puck laughed.

"Oh hell no, I can't sleep in bed with my assistant! I'll get fired, I hate my job, but I really like my job. I can't get fired and I really can't sleep with my assistant. Shit." Santana got up and started pacing which was doing nothing helpful for her oncoming headache.

"Oh fine, since I'm such a great friend I will sleep in bed with Brittany and you can have the couch," Puck made to get up off the couch when the remote control whizzed by only centimetres away from his mohawk.

"Get up off that couch and I swear to god I'll kick you in the nuts so hard you won't be able to stand for a month," Santana threatened as Puck slowly sat back down.

Santana left Puck in the living room as she made her way to the bedroom. "Ok I can do this, it's fine. We are just sleeping. She passed out there was nothing I could do. My bed is big, we are small. We don't even have to be near each other," Santana convinced herself as she pulled down her side of the covers.

Santana didn't move for a good thirty minutes until Brittany turned over and flopped a pale arm across Santana's stomach. Santana plopped Brittany's arm off of her but like a cat it just kept jumping right back on. Santana gave up after about six tries her own arm getting tired from the lifting. She admitted defeat and finally fell asleep.

"I think I'm dying. Yeah, I'm definitely dying," Brittany said while noticing the water and pills on the nightstand, "oh well that's helpful," Brittany downed the pills and the water. She slowly got up finally realizing that she was not in her bedroom. "Where am I?" Brittany turned around to see a sleeping Santana. "Son of a Duck," Brittany whispered to herself, "I slept with my boss. I slept with my boss. I am so getting fired for this. Shit, shit, maybe she won't remember. I really don't remember. Man, I wish I could remember sleeping with her, I bet it was awesome. No, no. no stop it. I have to get out of here," Brittany noticed her clothes around the room just grabbing random garments and tiptoeing out of the room.

"Morning Britt. How'd you sleep," a smirking Puck asked.

"Oh gosh, you are here. Hi Puck. I slept fine, alone and fine. Thanks for asking," Brittany tried to leave but was stopped by Puck holding a plate of eggs and toast, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Fine, I'll eat. Then I have to go," Brittany took the plate and sat down at the kitchen counter, "oh wow, these are really good Puck, thank you. I'm sorry I just gave you an attitude. I'm a little hungover," Brittany apologized.

"No worries, I have a gift. I rarely get hung over," Puck patted himself on the back which made Brittany giggle.

"So you and Santana have been friends for a long time, right?" Brittany asked in between bites of toast.

"Yeah, I think we met when we were six or something. I told her she was hot and she punched me," Puck laughed at the memory. "True story. When I realized I didn't have a chance with her I thought it best if I become her friend. She's awesome, she's the one who helped me start my garage. She's like my sister really," Puck shrugged getting more emotional that he would ever want to.

"That's amazing, I wish I had friends like that. I have friends from school and stuff and we hang out sometimes, but there isn't that one person who is just like your other half, you know?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah, Santana is definitely my better half. But there is enough of her greatness to go around," Puck winked at Brittany who blushed and put her head down.

Meanwhile in the bedroom Santana was waking up. "Please don't be here, please don't be here," Santana chanted in her head before turning over. "Thank you," she breathed out when the other side of the bed was empty. She walked to the bathroom but stopped once she heard voices. "Dammit, they are both still here," she finished in the bathroom and made her way out to the kitchen.

"Morning San. Britt and I were just talking about you," Puck smiled widely.

"Hi Brittany," Santana refused to make eye contact, still feeling really awkward about sleeping in the same bed with her employee.

"Hi Santana, thanks for letting me stay over last night," Brittany tried to make the situation less embarrassing but it didn't really help.

"As much fun as this situation is for me, I'm going to help us all out by saying that you guys did not have sex last night," Puck announced while getting up to fix a plate for Santana. "Brittany, you passed out while changing in Santana's room. I was on the couch so she slept, just slept as far as I know, in her bed as well," Puck finished. "Unless of course you did have sex and then I want details," he quickly added.

Brittany stared at Puck with a mixture of relief, embarrassment, regret, a dash of sexual tension.

"Thanks for clearing that up Puck," Santana growled at him as he put her plate down.  
"No problem, I'm going to pick up my bike and head home. Thanks for the couch San, I'll talk to you later. Oh, I'll bring the sweats back soon, Bye Brittany!" Puck yelled on his way out the door.

"I guess I'll be heading home also. I'm sure you are sick of me by now," Brittany forced out a smile.

"I'm not," Santana said rather quickly, "I mean you can obviously go home if you want. But I'm not sick of you."

"I'm not sick of you either. But I should go home and shower and stuff, I'm still a little hung over even though Puck's magical eggs did help a bit," Brittany laughed.

"I still don't know what he does to those eggs, but you are right they are magical." Santana got up and put their plates in the sink. "I'm just hanging around here all day. If you want to do something later."

"Ok, that sounds fun. Although maybe no drinking tonight?" Brittany pleaded. "Oh gosh I just remembered Quinn and Rachel!" Brittany said with a horrified look on her face.

Santana burst out into laughter, "Oh man, I hope they slept together! Maybe Quinn will be less of a nightmare on Monday!"

Both women shook the thought of Quinn and Rachel together out of their heads as Brittany picked up her clothes and Santana walked her out. "Thanks for letting me stay over last night," Brittany said shyly.

"Anytime, Britt," Santana smiled and leaned in for a hug. Brittany returned the gesture and left Santana's apartment.

Santana sat down on the couch staring at the dark t.v. "What the hell am I doing?" Santana laid down on the couch staring up at the ceiling, willing it to give her answers. "How can I like her? She's my assistant. I've only known her for two days!" Santana let herself have a mini temper tantrum on the couch complete with kicking and throwing of pillows. "I just have to only see her at work, no more drinks, no more meals, definitely no more sleeping in the same bed." Santana warned herself.

She was about to step into the shower when she heard her phone ring. She ran out of the bathroom and found her cell lit up with Brittany's name. "Hello?"  
"Hi Santana, you sound out of breath, are you ok?" Brittany asked worriedly.

"Yeah, yes. I was just about to get into the shower. Umm not that you needed to know that or anything, but what can I do for you?" Santana was all flustered, she caught her reflection in the hall mirror. She was naked, for one; Two she was completely flushed and three she was naked and flushed on the phone with Brittany.

"I'm sorry to take you away from your shower but I wanted to know if you would like to get dinner tonight," Brittany hoped this wasn't too forward. She knew there was something between them and even though it might mean having to find another job, she felt it worth following through.

"Dinner. Tonight. Sure." Santana slapped her face, good job keeping your work only plan in play for thirty seconds Lopez, she thought to herself.

"Ok great, how about that new Thai place on the avenue, at 7?" Brittany offered.

"I'll be there." Santana answered.

"I'll let you get back to your shower now. I should probably do the same, I bet a nice hot shower would feel so good right now." Brittany hadn't actually meant to say that. She was thinking it and somehow the thought had broken loose from her mind and made its way down and out of her mouth.

Oh gosh, Santana thought to herself, "Yeah, I bet it would. I'm going to go do that," more likely a cold shower now, Santana once again said to herself. "See you at 7."


	5. Chapter 5

Santana spent most of the afternoon watching tv and generally doing nothing. Around 6:30 she got dressed, throwing on a pair of jeans and a green V-neck t-shirt. She slowly made her way to the restaurant hoping she would get there after Brittany because she didn't want to seem too eager. Luckily, Brittany was already waiting for her outside in a very cute yellow sundress.

"Hi Santana! I like the color of your shirt," Brittany smiled.

"Hi Britt, thank you. I like the color of your dress, it makes your eyes pop." Santana held the door open and they walked in.

They were seated at a small table by the back window. They ordered their drinks and were just about to look through the menu when they heard it.  
"You know Quinn, they say some Asian spices can act as very potent aphrodisiacs. Not that we need any, but it might be fun to see if they work."

"Mmm that's a good idea baby, but you are spicy enough for me any day."

"Oh. my. freaking..." Santana covered her face with her menu and motioned for Brittany to do the same.

"Brittany," Santana whispered, "can you see them? Where are they?"

Brittany peeked her eyes over the top of her menu and saw Quinn and Rachel sitting two tables over. "They are behind you and to the right," Brittany whispered, "they must have just sat down otherwise they would have seen us come in."

"Shit, what do we do? They can't see us. They can't see us here together. Alone." Santana might have started to panic a little bit.

"Santana, stop it. We are just two friends having dinner." Brittany admonished.

"No, we are not. We are a boss and her assistant having dinner together after only knowing each other for 48 hours and spending 40 of those hours together. Twice in which we slept in the same room, once in the same bed. We are not just friends having dinner, Brittany." Santana quietly argued back, unaware of her declaration.

"Well if you would just play it cool it won't matter who or what we are. Chill out. Let's just pretend we don't see them and hopefully they don't see us." Brittany whispered back.

"Fine. Fine. You are right, they won't know we are..." Santana was cut off by a shrill sound coming from behind her.

"Hiiii! Hi Brittany! Hi, it's Rachel, Puck's friend! Who are you here with? It's such a coincidence that we would run into each other. What are the odds of that happening?" Rachel got up and started walking towards their table.

"Hi Rachel. Just a friend, no need to come over. Stay where you are. Oh ok you are coming over." Brittany gave Santana an apologetic look and braced herself for what was about to happen.

"Brittany who is your friend?" Rachel asked. Santana turned her head around so Rachel could see who she was.

"Santana. What are you doing here?" Quinn had followed Rachel over and was now giving Santana a very unhappy look.

"Hi Quinn, Brittany and I are just having dinner. What are you two doing?" Santana asked calmly.

"We are on a date. I certainly hope you two are not doing the same. You know that is against office policy, don't you Santana?" Quinn spat out.

"Yes, I do know that Quinn, which is fine since Brittany and I are not on a date. Some people have friends with whom they eat meals." Santana said with a clenched jaw.

"Friends? You two have only known each other for two days. Don't mess with me Lopez, I can get you fired for this. Come Rachel, lets leave these two alone." Quinn turned and walked back to her table. Rachel gave Brittany a quick apologetic smile and followed Quinn back to their table.

"Shit Brittany! Now what are we going to do? We have to leave, I can't sit here with them right there." Santana stood up and walked out of the restaurant. Brittany followed Santana out getting angrier and angrier by the second.

"How dare you walk out on me like that," Brittany yelled once they were both out on the street. "We might not know each other that well but I know that you are not a rude petulant child. At least I thought I knew that before just now. You do not get to just get up and walk away from me. You might be my boss in the office but out here we are equals. Now you explain to me like an adult what your problem is." Brittany demanded.

"What's my problem? My problem is that I am going to get fired because I had to go and fall for my assistant! That's what my freaking problem is Brittany." Santana explained. "Don't you get that. This job might not mean anything to you but I've been there for five years. I worked my way up from assistant. I worked my ass off. I can't get fired." Santana paused, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry I walked out on you."

"Thank you. Can we go back to your place and talk about this. I'm hungry and we clearly have some things that need to be discussed and I'd rather not do it in the street." Brittany reached for Santana's hand hoping she wouldn't be rejected. Santana took a step forward and placed her hand in Brittany's as they started walking home.

Santana immediately started making some pasta then joined Brittany on the couch in the living room. They both sat there staring straight ahead, neither moving. Finally Brittany started to speak, "so you fell for me?" She asked still staring at the wall in front of her.

"Yeah. I did." Santana kept staring forward also.

"When?" Brittany had started fidgeting with the hem of her dress, which was laying neatly on her upper thighs.

"The second I saw you. That's why I was cursing, I was flustered." Brittany could see Santana blush out of the corner of her eye.

"Me too."

"Me too what?" Santana finally turned to look at Brittany.

"Me too, I fell for you." Brittany shrugged.

"Now what?" Santana moved closer to Brittany on the couch.

"I guess I'll quit," Brittany sighed.

"No, no there has to be another way. That's not fair." Santana put her hand over Brittany's. "We will figure it out. I'll talk to Kurt, he knows everything about anything in the office. He'll know what to do and I trust him. I'll fix this."

Santana picked up her cell "Kurt. Tomorrow, my office 9:30. We have a code five Quinn emergency. Yes, bring back up. Thanks bye."

Brittany and Santana finished their dinner, Santana silently washed the dishes as Brittany dried.

"So, I'm going to sleep over again," Brittany informed Santana who quickly recovered from almost dropping a glass at the announcement.

"oh ok," Santana barely made out.

"Well come on then," Brittany exclaimed while starting off towards the bedroom.

Santana woke up before her alarm the next morning, she turned over, noticing the light coming from under the bathroom door. She listened carefully, hearing the shower and some low singing. Santana smiled at the idea of waking up to Brittany being in her apartment every morning. She stayed in bed daydreaming a little bit before she heard the bathroom door open, followed by Brittany in a small purple towel.

"Well if this isn't the best fucking morning ever," Santana said while blatantly staring at Brittany's legs.

"Good morning to you as well," Brittany slowly walked over to where Santana was still nestled into bed. "So, we have about two hours before we need to meet Kurt and everyone," Brittany sat down on the edge of the bed, her towel inching dangerously high. Santana wondered where this was going, thinking it would be kind of out of nowhere for Brittany to suddenly start to proposition her like this, not that Santana was complaining, but she likes to be on top of her game.

"San, hello? Where are you? I asked if you wanted me to make breakfast since we have time," Brittany looked at her oddly.

"Oh damn. I mean yes, yes Britt I would love that. I'm going to shower while you make breakfast. I have eggs and fruits and veggies and stuff in the fridge. Have at it," Santana smiled and got up.

"Well wait a second San," Brittany stood up as well. "I was kind of hoping I could kiss you," Brittany blushed and looked down at her feet.

"Oh," Santana mouthed.

Before Santana could really get her head around the idea of Brittany kissing her she felt soft lips on hers. Brittany increased the pressure she put on Santana's lips when she noticed the other girl was not moving. For a second Brittany worried that she had caught Santana too off guard or that maybe Santana didn't really want this, but all those thoughts were quickly pushed away when Santana finally seemed to catch up and kiss Brittany back. The low moan coming from Santana's throat did nothing to curb Brittany's hunger as she parted her lips hoping for a quicker response this time. Santana joined her, and made a quick mental note that this was already the best kiss she ever had. Brittany's hands were holding comfortably around Santana's waist as Santana massaged Brittany's hips. They broke apart after several seconds, slightly out of breath at both the physical and emotional toll of their kiss. Santana uncharacteristically looked up at Brittany though slightly moist eyelashes accompanied by tinged cheeks. Brittany gave Santana a quick peck and started off to get ready.

"Hey, but wait!" Santana yelled, "what are you doing?"

"Well, beautiful. I said I wanted to kiss you, and I did. Now we have to get ready to go to work. Plus, now I get to kiss you all the time whenever I want, right?" Brittany peaked her head out of the bedroom.

"Yes," Santana laughed, "yes, you definitely get to kiss me whenever you want."

Neither Santana nor Brittany were able to wipe the goofy grins off their faces the entire train ride to work. Finally Brittany spoke, "So what is this 'Quinn-Five Emergency' business anyway?"

"Well, since Quinn is usually a raging bitch to me, the guys at the office and I have devised a plan for when I really get myself into trouble. Like this for instance. Or like when I accidentally threw out Quinn's day planner and she missed an important meeting. Or like when I accidentally threw out Quinn's car keys and she had to call and postpone a deposition she was heading to. You know stuff like that," Santana gave an evil smile.

"You sure do seem to get into a lot of accidents around Quinn, huh?" Brittany raised an eyebrow. Santana just shrugged and waited for their stop.

At 9:30AM on the dot Kurt, Mercedes, Puck and Blaine, Kurt's lawyer boyfriend who worked at another firm a few blocks uptown, entered Santana's dark office. "What's with the mood lighting?" Kurt moved to turn on the lights, instead getting a quick slap on the shoulder from Santana.

"No lights. Quinn can't know we are in here." Santana hissed.

"Ok Batman, at least let me open a shade. Unless of course Quinn has acquired the ability to fly and then we are just out of luck." Kurt smirked and opened the shades letting some grey morning light in.

"So what's with the code five?" Mercedes asked while taking a seat next to Blaine on the couch. Kurt and Puck sat on Santana's desk while Santana and Brittany stood off to the side.

"Quinn saw us out to dinner," Santana said flatly.

"I'm confused," Blaine whispered to Mercedes who just stared at Santana.  
"No you guys, she saw us. Out to dinner!" Brittany tried explaining complete with hand gestures mimicking eating.

"So...Quinn doesn't like when you eat?" Blaine asked.

"Wait. A. Minute. You guys were out to dinner!" Kurt jumped up off the desk. "and Quinn saw you! What did she say! Wait, you guys are dating?" Kurt stopped short.

"Well, sort of. It's complicated." Santana shrugged.

"I knew it!" Puck finally chimed in.

"Ok, Ms. It's complicated, we will deal with that issue later," Kurt told Santana with a suspicious look on his face. "Now, What did Quinn say to you?" Kurt sat back down.

"She said to watch myself because she can have me fired." Santana started pacing, Brittany reached out and put a gentle hand on Santana's shoulder which caused her to immediately stop pacing. Santana relaxed and took a deep breath.

"Holy cow. Did you see that?" Mercedes whispered to Blaine.

"She's like the Santana whisperer." Puck responded from across the room, which was answered with a very dirty look from Santana and a slight, serious nod from Brittany.

"Guys this is important. Santana you were correct to call a meeting. Now I have some questions I need answered before we proceed. One, When did this start?; Two, Besides seeing you at dinner has Quinn seen anything else suspicious?; Three, Is this serious enough that if one of you has to leave here you would do it?"

"Four, have you guys done it yet? Oh, did you actually do it that night I slept over? Please say yes!" Puck grasped his hands and pleaded.

Santana took one very menacing step towards Puck before Brittany's firm hand on his shoulder stopped her. "Babe," Brittany whispered into Santana's ear, "you will eventually get to have sex with me, he never ever will." Brittany placed a quick kiss to Santana's temple.

Santana turned and smirked at Puck, "Whatever loser, I win forever."  
Brittany finally turned the attention away from Puck and Santana's antics to answer Kurt's questions. "The first day we met there was something there I think, but the dinner where Quinn saw us was the first time we even started to acknowledge it might be something more. No, we've been spending a lot of time together but it was mostly for work. And we went to a bar with Puck, Quinn and Rachel but I don't think she thought anything then. Yes, I will be willing to leave here if it means we can continue exploring this. It's only fair that I leave and not Santana." Brittany concluded. She looked around the room Mercedes as a big smile on her face, both Kurt and Blaine had their hands over their hearts and Puck jumped up to fist bump Brittany.

"Hold please." Kurt said while motioning for Mercedes, Puck and Blaine to huddle with him in the corner. Brittany and Santana stood in silence waiting for the pow-wow to end. Brittany still had her hand on Santana's shoulder, but it was now covered by Santana's own hand. After a few minutes the group broke with a loud shout of "1, 2, 3 Brittana!" Santana rolled her eyes and Brittany giggled.

"We have a plan." Kurt stated while the three others nodded their heads seriously. "Britt, may I call you Britt?" Brittany nodded. "Good, so Britt, you will quit working here and go to work for Blaine. Santana, Mercedes knows the ethics rules of this office back and front. She said that as long as nothing happened in the workplace and Brittany quits sooner rather than later there is nothing Quinn can do to you. Your work is flawless, your reports impeccable. You've never been in trouble and Mr. Chang loves you, he trumps Quinn on everything. Plus, Quinn's a bitch and we will all make her life a living hell if she tries anything on you." Kurt, satisfied with the plan waited for one of them to answer.

"Blaine, are you sure Brittany can come work for you?" Santana asked nervously.

"Yes, without a doubt. In fact I just had to fire my last assistant for being a big oaf. So I happen to be in the market for a young, intelligent, and cute associate." Blaine explained.

"'Cedes you are sure Quinn can't do anything to me? She really hates me." Santana fiddled with the hem of her skirt. A trait Brittany found herself thinking was very cute.

"You've done nothing wrong. Even if you guys were out to dinner as more than friends there is no way to prove it." Mercedes promised Santana.

"Thanks you guys. We didn't know what to do. You really saved our asses. But there's one thing, if Brittany quits isn't that essentially admitting to Quinn that we are together so Brittany had to quit?" Santana asked.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Brittany just happened to be offered a better job at another firm, happens all the time," Mercedes promised.

"And even if she does give you shit, I know how to deal with Quinn." Puck held his hand up. "I'll just get Rachel to sweet talk Quinn into doing whatever we want. I still have a bunch of work to do on her dad's bike. I think I can manage to discount the price enough to make Rachel do whatever I ask." Puck finished, very proud of himself.

Everyone moved in for a big group hug. They broke apart laughing and high-fiving when Kurt stopped, "wait, who is Rachel?"

"Oh man, let me tell this story!" Puck begged. "Ok, so I met this kind of cute girl at my shop the other day and so I took her to have drinks with me San and Britt. Quinn comes walking out of the elevator with them and Quinn and Rachel had some freaking movie-of-the-week, slow-motion running into each other's arms moment. Rachel was at the shop yesterday and said she and Quinn are an official item. Gross!" Puck finished.

"Wow, I had no idea she played for our team. Oh my gosh! That's it!" Kurt slapped his hand to his face.

"What are you talking about?" Puck asked giving him a weird look.

"That's why Quinn is such a bitch to Santana!" Kurt exclaimed.

"You are so right babe," Blaine shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe we didn't figure this out sooner!" Mercedes added.

"San, Quinn has a big ol' gay lady crush on you!" Kurt finally managed through all his laughing.

"You guys are freaking crazy. She does not." Santana flipped them all off.

"Whatever you say, San. Whatever you say." Kurt finished laughing.

"You guys suck." Santana pouted until Brittany placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.


	6. Chapter 6

The group dispersed with promises to meet for drinks later that week. Santana and Brittany went back to their office to draft Brittany's resignation letter. "Ok Britt, draft your letter and I'll read it over," Santana instructed as she settled down to answer some emails. Every once in a while Santana would glance up to look at Brittany, tongue sticking out, bangs standing on end, eyes crinkled together in concentration and Santana would think to herself that this could be the beginning of something pretty special.

"Ok San, I think I'm done. I basically say that although I've really enjoyed my time here, I've been offered a position at Sylvester & Corcoran that I can't turn down and that at some point in the future I hope we can work together again. How does that sound?" Brittany asked, jumping into the chair that sits in front of Santana's desk.

"I think that sounds fantastic. There's nothing in there that would put you at a disadvantage in the future. Do you want to walk over and give it to Quinn now? She might have you leave right away, will that be ok?" Santana asked hesitantly.

"Yeah that's ok. I can walk over to Blaine's building and see the office and stuff," Brittany explained.

"You are so optimistic about quitting your job. I know you have somewhere to go, but it's still a big deal. I don't know how you do it," Santana shook her head and smiled.

Brittany slowly moved around Santana's desk stopping only when she stood directly in front of the sitting woman. "It's easy to be optimistic about leaving a job during the day when I know what I get to come home to at night," Brittany whispered into Santana's ear causing her to shiver slightly and gulp audibly.

By time Santana managed to answer with a meek "oh", Brittany was already out the door on her way to Quinn's office. She knocked gently and was pleasantly surprised when Quinn softy instructed the knocker to enter. She peeked her head around the door to see Quinn sitting at her desk, hands in head, sighing deeply.

"Uhh hi Quinn, I hope I'm not interrupting you. I can come back at a later time," Brittany asked quickly.

"No, no Brittany it's ok. How can I help you? Is Santana being mean to you, is she difficult to work with? I can assign you somewhere else." If Brittany was listening hard enough she would have heard a tinge of excitement in Quinn's voice as she said this.  
"Oh no, Santana is wonderful actually. She..." Brittany trailed off realizing she didn't need to continue. "umm no, actually, I'm here to give notice of my resignation. Effective immediately," Brittany said softly as she placed her letter down.

"What?! Why are you resigning after two days? Tell me the truth. Is it Santana? Is she making your job miserable?" Quinn asked, standing up, appearing more concerned than anything.

"No, Santana is not discouraging me in any way. I just, I've been given a really amazing offer at another firm and it's an offer I can't refuse. I'm sorry if it appears that I've been wasting your time these past few days. It was never my intention to leave so soon or so abruptly. I hope the small amount of work I've produced for you was satisfactory," Brittany turned to walk out, a small lump forming in her throat. Deep down her gut was telling her Quinn wasn't a bad person. Brittany just couldn't figure Quinn out.

"Well, I'm very sorry to hear that you're leaving us Brittany," Quinn sighed and motioned towards her door, "best of luck wherever you land," Quinn forced a tight smile.

"Thank you, Quinn," Brittany turned to exit the office.

"Oh and Brittany, one more thing," Quinn paused. "The work you did while here was more than satisfactory," Quinn nodded and turned her back to Brittany.

As Brittany slowly walked back to Santana's office she spoke aloud to herself, "Was that the same Quinn I have been dealing with for the past two days? Maybe Rachel is having some sort of crazy influence on her."

Santana was sitting on the phone when Brittany returned. Brittany sat down on the couch while Santana mouthed "how'd it go?" at her. Brittany nodded and started to collect her things. A few minutes later Santana was off the phone and joined Brittany on the couch.

"Are you ok? You look sad. I'm really sorry you have to leave here. I really am," Santana said while resting her head on Brittany's shoulder.

"I know you are, but I'm not. It's better this way. We don't have to hide anything and it'll make it even better when we see each other after work and on the weekends and stuff," Brittany explained while giving the top of Santana's head a quick peck. "Well I better head out to see Blaine. Do you want to come over to my place later? I'll make us dinner. You can meet my cat!" Brittany said, suddenly appearing very excited. Santana laughed and agreed to be at Brittany's place at 7:30. Brittany got up from the couch to leave but before she did she quickly bent down and placed a soft kiss on Santana's lips.

Brittany left the building and started walking toward Blaine's office thinking about what she was going to make for dinner to celebrate Santana's first meeting with Lord Tubbington, when she ran smack dab into Rachel.

"Oh my gosh Brittany! How are you? Where are you headed? I was just running out to grab some lunch," Rachel said while consuming Brittany in a bone crushing hug.

"Hi Rachel, I'm just on my way to my friend's law firm. I, well I quit Chang & Rutherford just now and am going to work somewhere else," Brittany stated not really wanting to explain everything to Rachel.

"What? But why would you leave Chang? It's one of the best firms in the city. You just started there. Did something happen? Was it Santana? Was it Quinn?" Rachel asked, a defensive note creeping into her voice.

"No, no. I just, I got another offer I couldn't refuse," Brittany shrugged, thinking that it wasn't a lie because being with Santana was the offer of a lifetime. However, she could tell from Rachel's face that she wasn't really buying it but luckily the smaller woman tactfully dropped the subject.

"Ok, well please feel free to call or text me if you ever want to hang out. Let's do drinks sometime soon!" Rachel turned waving over her shoulder, before her curiosity got the best of her and shouted, "you know what? How about we get coffee right now?" Rachel beamed.

"Oh, um alright I guess I have time," Brittany glanced around nervously.

"Great, there's a place with excellent vegan scones right around the corner," Rachel smiled, turned, and trotted away forcing Brittany to jog in order to catch up.

Once settled inside the bakery with scones and coffee, Rachel started her barrage of questions Brittany knew were coming. "So, that night Quinn and I saw you and Santana out to dinner. You guys weren't just going out as friends right? When did you guys start dating? Does Quinn know? Is that why you left? Oh my gosh!" Rachel started jumping up out of her seat with gossipy excitement.

"Rachel, please sit down." Brittany pleaded.

Rachel calmed down and took a sip of her coffee. "Ok I'm sorry for my outburst. But are you and Santana together?" Rachel couldn't help herself.

"I don't know, It's complicated. Nothing happened at work if you're wondering." Or if Quinn is wondering, Brittany thought to herself.

Rachel eyed Brittany suspiciously but let the subject drop not wanting to push her new friend. From the few interactions she'd had with Brittany, Rachel had already decided that she liked her very much. She didn't mind Santana that much either. She seemed smart, serious, and quiet. Quinn was serious and quiet also, especially around Santana but Rachel figured it was only work tension. And yet, there was a twinge of something else in the air any time Rachel really thought about how Quinn was about Santana. But, as quickly as that thought came it was gone again.

Brittany and Rachel finished their coffee, chatting about Rachel's class and Brittany's law school experiences. They parted with a hug, and Brittany promising Rachel a lunch in the future.

As the two women walked their separate ways, Rachel still had that nagging feeling that there was something amiss about Quinn's apparent and constant overreactions to Santana's existence. Meanwhile down the street, Brittany was beginning to feel the soft warm glow of anticipation about seeing Santana in a few hours time. Brittany put her fingers to her lips and smiled as she started to saunter down the street.


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel was on her way home from work and decided to stop in and surprise Quinn. After her conversation with Brittany, Rachel was starting to become a little suspicious about Quinn and Santana's relationship. Quinn had told Rachel that she just wasn't a big fan of Santana's, but Rachel could feel something else lingering beneath the surface. It wasn't jealousy or envy, it was something deeper that Rachel couldn't quite put her finger on. Since last week had gone by pretty quickly and a lot had happened Rachel hadn't had a chance to discuss it with Quinn. Rachel didn't want to push Quinn, but if their relationship was going to continue moving this fast she needed to know what was going on. She reached Quinn's office fairly quickly and now that the receptionist recognized her, she walked down the hall and approached the door to Quinn's office without any fuss. Rachel knocked gently.

"Who is it?" Quinn called out sounding slightly muffled.

"It's Rachel," she answered hesitantly.

"Come in," Quinn said as she quickly wiped her eyes and ran to the door to greet Rachel. "Hey, I'm so glad to see you. I was just thinking about you." Quinn hugged Rachel tightly, kissing her cheek then placing a quick peck on her lips.

"Hi honey, I was walking past the building on my way to the train and I figured I'd stop by and see if you would get off early and come to dinner at my place," Rachel asked excitedly, trying not to let Quinn see her confusion at all the crumpled up tissues in the trash can or Quinn's wet eyelashes.

Quinn answered immediately, "Of course I can leave early for you. I just need to make a quick call to Mr. Chang's wife, Tina, about her case. Why don't you wait up by receptionist, she's been dying to know more about you anyway. I'll only be a few minutes." Quinn ushered Rachel out of her office, practically pushing her through the doorway which left Rachel only one option, to go wait by the receptionist until Quinn finished whatever it was that Rachel had interrupted.

"Ok, Quinn. I'll be up front." Rachel sighed and walked towards the reception area.

Quinn quickly closed her office door and ran to her desk. She stared at the open email for a few moments before wiping one last tear from her eye and closing the window. She took a minute to clean herself up and walked out to meet Rachel.

Meanwhile, down the hall, Santana was fumbling with all her bags that contained all the files and papers she had to bring home. As she turned to close her door the biggest file slipped out her grasp and she practically fell out of her office. Directly onto Quinn.

"Ow!" Santana heard as she tumbled onto the floor, she looked beneath her and came face to face with an annoyed yet sad looking Quinn.

"Oh gosh, Quinn. I'm really sorry. Are you ok? I lost control of all the things I was carrying and lost my balance. Hold on let me help you up." Santana pulled herself up and off of an unmoving Quinn who was still lying on the floor.

"Uhh Quinn... are you ok? Are you hurt? I'm really sorry. I would never want to hurt you," Santana promised still trying to motivate Quinn to grab her hand and get up off the floor.

"It's too late for that isn't it?" Quinn mumbled under her breath. She sat up, shaking her head clear, while ignoring Santana's outstretched hand and the look of concern on her face.

"What?" Santana could have sworn she heard Quinn mumble something but she couldn't be sure. "Did you hit your head when we fell?" Santana wasn't sure where this compassion was coming from, she figured Brittany was already rubbing off on her. Quinn just got up and walked away.

"Quinn, I'm sorry, ok?! What is wrong with you? You just walk away without saying anything?" Santana started to feel the anger bubble up inside of her. She finally had enough of Quinn's bull shit and wanted to put an end to it. "Are you that rude that you don't even respond when someone apologizes for accidentally bumping into you?" Santana spat, picking up her files and walking past Quinn towards the front door.

"I am not the rude one, Santana. Don't you ever forget that I am your boss. You can't treat me this way!" Quinn willed herself not to cry.

"I am not treating you any differently than you treat me Quinn. Actually, no, that's wrong. I treat you much better than you treat me. I've never, ever done anything to you. You've had some sort of vendetta against me from the moment I started working here five years ago, Quinn. Get over yourself!" Santana lashed out, pushing past a confused looking Rachel who had come out to see what all the yelling was about. Santana violently stabbed at the elevator button, finally getting inside. The doors started to close, but not before Santana looked up to see Quinn staring at her with tears in her eyes. Santana stood alone in the elevator for a few seconds, bewildered, until she finally pressed the button for the lobby.

Rachel stood there deciding whether or not she should try to figure this mess out or if she should just leave. In the end, when she saw the crumpled way Quinn was standing, she knew she wasn't ready to give up. "What is going on Quinn? If this is going to continue you need to be honest with me. There is definitely something wrong. You've clearly been crying. You and Santana have escalated to standing in the middle of the office screaming at each other. You need to tell me what's going on between you two right now or I will be done with this relationship. I will not be with someone who conceals things from me." Rachel stood still, waiting for Quinn's response. What she really wanted was to run over and hug Quinn, the woman certainly looked like she could use more hugs but, Rachel was serious, if Quinn was in fact lying to her about something, it would be over.

"Ok" Quinn said softly. "But not here. Can we go back to my place, please? I promise I'll tell you everything." Quinn looked up at Rachel, pleading for her to agree.

"Ok, let's get you home." Rachel smiled, taking Quinn's hand and leading her towards the elevators.

Back at Quinn's apartment Rachel opened a bottle of wine while Quinn went to change into some yoga pants and a tank top. Quinn returned to the living room, greeted by a glass of wine and a smiling Rachel. She sat on the couch next to Rachel, who immediately inched closer. Quinn took a deep breath, then an even deeper gulp of wine and turned towards Rachel.

"Before I start, I just need you to know that I like you very, very much. Anything I say or explain tonight means nothing to me anymore, honestly. Since I met you, my world has changed. I know I've been sad and distant and after you hear this story you're going to think you know the reasons why but you'll be wrong. Please just give me time, once I've finished, to explain, ok?" Quinn put her wine glass down and reached for Rachel's hands and placing them in her own.

"Ok, I'll let you explain," Rachel answered truthfully.

"When I was a 3L in law school, my last year, I was working at a local coffee shop and became really good friends with one of my coworkers. She was living in an apartment downtown with another girl who had just started her 1L year, the first year, at another law school in the City. One night, my co-worker said that her roommate's friends from law school were having a party and that I should come, since I would probably have a lot in common with them and that I needed to loosen up and get out more. So of course after being told I needed to loosen up, I went. I figured it would be nice to meet people who were going through the same experiences I was. Quinn paused, reaching over and taking a sip of wine for liquid courage.

"We get to this party, which is already in full swing, because that's how law students are. And my friend and I are drinking and I'm chatting with a few people. I was having a really interesting conversation with this one guy about this important search and seizure case we were studying in our respective Criminal Procedure classes. We both agreed with the Supreme Court's reasoning for overturning the lower court when, from behind me came this loud obnoxious voice telling us that we were wrong. This girl started yelling at us that the Supreme Court was wrong and she sided with the one dissenting justice because he was right. She was clearly trashed and at this point I was a few drinks in also. So I started talking back to her and we got into this really intense conversation about the case and she was making some really great points. Eventually the guy I was originally talking to walked away and this girl and I kept arguing the points of the case. At this point it was pretty late and a lot of people had left. As time went on and we kept talking, we moved onto all of these other really interesting cases and in every single one of them, she disagreed with the majority. I had never met anyone so contrary and persuasive. Even while clearly drunk, she was so smart and eloquent." Quinn paused again to take another sip of wine. She took a moment to herself to relive the memory of sitting on that couch with Santana, being so in awe of her intelligence and beauty. She smiled at the memory, the memory of the first time she really felt a connection with someone. She looked at Rachel, who being very smart in her own right, had at this point in the story already figured out who the other "girl" was. Seeing an opening for questions Rachel jumped in.

"So wait, you and Santana have known eachother since law school?" Rachel asked, not with an accusatory tone, but more of a confused one. They certainly didn't act like they'd known each other from outside of work.

"Well, it's complicated. Let me finish. We talked for hours sitting on that couch. Finally, the guy who owned the house asked us to leave, but we weren't finished talking. So I told my coworker she could go, and Santana and I found this 24-hour diner not far from where the party was. It was pretty empty, so we sat in a booth at the back. She ordered waffles and ice cream and yelled at the poor waiter when he said she couldn't have both chocolate and vanilla. I'm sure I don't need to add that she most definitely got both chocolate and vanilla. I ordered fries and a coke. Santana told me my drunken food choices were boring, but I countered that I would much rather puke up some fries the next morning than a huge waffle and a pint of ice cream. She laughed at me and said she never throws up from drinking, and even if she does tomorrow, she will enjoy eating this more than she will not enjoy throwing it up." Quinn laughed to herself remembering.

"We were both still pretty drunk even after eating, but we decided to walk down to the Battery, which just for your information is one of my favorite spots in the city. I thought I knew everything about all the memorials there, but Santana knew more. She told me about memorials that were planned and never executed, and even ones that she thought belonged there. She just seemed to know everything. It was intoxicating being near her in one of my favorite places. We stood at the tip of the City for a while in silence and watched the sun rise. I remember feeling content that whole time. I felt so light. Finally, she just turned and kissed me. I kissed her back." Quinn looked up from her lap towards Rachel who was refilling her wine glass, purposely avoiding eye contact with Quinn. "Rach, just... please let me finish. ok?" Rachel, still not looking at Quinn, nodded.

"I fell for her hard that night, I really did. After we kissed, we just stood there a little while longer. Finally, some tourists started coming around so we left. We said goodbye, and we got on our respective trains. I didn't think to ask for her number, I just knew her first name. I got home and went to bed. I woke up a few hours later to the sound of text messages. It was my co-worker, saying a bunch of people from the party were going out for drinks that night and she wanted me to go. I said yes, hoping I would see Santana there. When I got to the bar, I kept waiting to see her. I saw her face out of the corner of my eye; I heard her laugh all around me but it was only ever my imagination. I spent more time than I normally would have at the bar just hoping she would show up. After that night, I went to every party and every group outing for months and nothing. I never saw her. At first I didn't want to ask my co-worker to ask her roommate about Santana because I thought that would be awkward and then the more time passed the weirder it would be to ask about some girl I met months ago. Then, after declining to go to any more parties for a few weeks it was nearing the end of my law school career and a bunch of people were going out to celebrate. I succumbed to the peer pressure and decided to go.

When I got to the bar, I bellied up and ordered a drink. As I turned around, I saw her. As if in a trance, I made my way over a huge giddy grin spread wide across my face. I smiled at her, but she just looked at me, not saying anything. At first I thought she was in shock at seeing me after all this time but then my imagination ran away with me and that maybe she wasn't out, or didn't want people to know, or maybe she didn't want to acknowledge what had happened. My mind working in overdrive, I figured I would get her away from her friends later and talk to her. About an hour later she was standing by herself at the bar. I walked over smiling, I asked her how it felt to puke up waffles and ice cream after a night of drinking, hoping she'd laugh that I remembered. She looked at me like she'd never seen me before. As if I was a complete stranger. She said that she never throws up after drinking. She asked me if we'd ever met. She didn't remember anything. It was the lack of recognition in her eyes that forced me out of the bar, stumbling down the street until I couldn't control it any more and started to cry.

As she quietly trailed off at the end of her confession, Quinn finally broke down the tears streaming down her face and saying, "She doesn't fucking remember." Rachel didn't know what to do, Quinn was sobbing over another woman, but Rachel wanted to comfort her. Rachel put her wine glass down on the table, enveloping Quinn in her arms as best she could. She rubbed Quinn's back while offering quiet words of comfort.

"She didn't remember!" Quinn wailed. "I know we were drunk, but she really didn't remember me. We spent a whole night together and she didn't remember a thing. At first I thought she just didn't want to fess up to it, but there's no way she could still keep playing that game five years later. I mean can you believe she walked into Chang to interview for an associate position?! I almost fainted when I saw her walk through that door. She looked the exact same. I figured maybe after a couple of years, she would know who I was, maybe she really didn't forget. But no, even after Mr. Chang brought her by my office to introduce us, there wasn't even a glimmer of recognition on her face. It killed me. I couldn't believe I was going to have to work with her, and closely no less! Her first project, Chang put her with me. I was so bitter and angry. I always wonder if I'd been nice to her and we'd started a friendship if something of that night would have rekindled. I think about that most often." Quinn stood up. She walked into the bathroom to splash her face with cold water and grab some tissues. She was afraid to look at Rachel, if Rachel was even still there. She wouldn't blame her if she left, she just told her new girlfriend all about how she'd been pining for a coworker for half a decade. Quinn returned to the living room, relieved that Rachel was still sitting on the couch.

"Now you know the story of me and Santana and why I find myself incapable of being anything but short tempered and admittedly rude whenever she's around. I've never said anything, what's the point now? But before I ask if you have any questions, I need to just finish one last thing. Yes, I might have been harboring residual feelings for Santana all these years, but I swear to you, Rachel. I swear that when I walked out of the building a week ago and saw you standing there, what I felt, before even speaking to you, was a hundred times stronger than what I felt with Santana that whole drunken night. The reason I've been so sad lately is because being with you makes me think about what might have been with Santana. Not romantically, because honestly, I think we would have killed each other after awhile, but friendship-wise. We clearly had a connection, and even at work, underneath all the hostility we work really well together. She's smart and good at her job. And I blew the chance at a really great friendship because my feelings got hurt. Plus, I've been making myself miserable all these years. I just could never let it go and I've been thinking about what else I might have missed out on.

"So, I just need you to know that any emotion I have towards Santana, none of it is romantic. I was just holding on to one moment, that happened one night, years ago because up until then and since then I'd never felt anything comparable. That is, until you, you who turned my world upside down." Quinn smiled, taking back the empty seat next to Rachel. She took her chances and laid her head down on Rachel's shoulder. When Rachel didn't move for a few moments, Quinn was about to lift her head when she felt a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Quinn, I am not thrilled about this turn of events. But, I'm really glad that you chose to share such an intimate part of your life with me. I can't imagine how hurt you were that night at the bar when Santana didn't recognize you. That's devastating, especially after what sounds like a really special night. I can also see how the entire incident would affect your sense of self worth and your ability to trust your feelings in future relationships. I'm just so sorry you've had to carry all that around with you all these years. I think that although it was probably very cathartic for you to tell me that story, I must advise you to confront Santana. You can't keep going on like this. Also, it's really not fair that she has no idea why you are incapable of civility when in her presence. Plus, I really like Brittany." Rachel smiled into the top of Quinn's head.

"Today when you surprised me at the office I was in the middle of writing Santana an email. I knew that I had to clear everything up with her if I was going to truly commit myself to you and our relationship. I know I should confront her in person, but it makes me sick to my stomach to think about having to relive the past while standing right in front of her. I don't think I can handle seeing her lack of recognition about that night again." Quinn sighed, wiping her eyes on Rachel's shirt.

"I think that you should talk to her face to face, but whatever you need to do around this I will support you." Rachel reached down without looking and wiped another tear from Quinn's cheek.

"I know, I know," Quinn answered, the weight of her emotions making her eyelids heavy. She nuzzled in closer to Rachel and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Brittany stopped off at the grocery store on her way home. Picking up ingredients for pasta, figuring it was easy and safe and that Santana would probably look really cute slurping up long strings of spaghetti. When Brittany got home, she put the groceries away and started to tidy up a bit. She noticed Lord Tubbington lounging in the corner and thought it best to have a short talk with him before Santana arrived.

"Hi Lord Tubbington, I know you are very busy, and I hate to interrupt, but may I please have a moment of your time? I have something very important I'd like to discuss with you," Brittany asked gently, not wanting to upset his highness. Lord Tubbington nodded and waited for her to continue speaking.

"Ok well, I've told you about Santana, right? She's really special. She's coming over tonight for dinner and to meet you, of course. I really hope that you'll be nice to her. She's really nice to me and I want her to stick around for a long time. So if you have any problems with her can you please hold them in and we will talk about them later?" Brittany finished her speech and squealed with delight when Lord Tubbington rolled over on his back signaling his acquiescence. Brittany rewarded him with belly scratches and the promise of a new cigar. Looking at the clock, Brittany realized it was time to start dinner. Santana would be there in less than an hour.

Santana exited the office building still very worked up over the confusing confrontation with Quinn. She knew she needed to calm down before heading over to Brittany's. Santana smiled, just the thought of Brittany was starting to calm her down. She took a few deep breaths and walked down to the train. Santana got off near Brittany's house, having finally calmed down and very much looking forward to dinner. Shifting her heavy files, Santana realized she was going to dinner at Brittany's place for the first time and she was empty handed.

"Ugh, I am already a terrible girlfriend and I don't even know if I am her girlfriend yet." Lucky for Santana, she was serendipitously mere steps from a bakery, a florist, and a wine shop. "Excellent."

Santana stopped into all three stores overcompensating for her original forgetfulness. Just before arriving at Brittany's building, Santana made a quick run into one last store. She finally made it to Brittany's front door loaded down with bags, files, a bottle of wine, the last-minute-purchased fruit tart, and an unnecessarily large bouquet of daisies. Buried by her gifts, she couldn't get a hand free to knock, so she kicked the door a few times, hoping Brittany would get the message.

"Ohh do you hear that Lord Tubbington? Someone is at the door! Who could it be?" Brittany asked excitedly. Placing an unamused cat down on the couch, she got up and put an ear to the door, "Who is it?" Brittany asked, unable to contain her giggles which filtered through the door causing Santana to giggle as well.

"It's me Britt!" Santana couldn't help but laugh, "Hurry up, I'm holding a lot of stuff out here!" Santana once again shifted her weight, praying all her goodies wouldn't tumble onto the stoop.

Brittany swung the door open, ready to launch herself at Santana but stopped when she saw that Santana was indeed carrying a lot of things.

"I can barely see you! You're so small to begin with. Are you sure you're under there?" Brittany asked bending down, trying to get a peek under all the bags, packages, and flowers.

"Britt!" Santana whined. "Come on, take something I'm gonna collapse!" Santana laughed pushing her way through the door. Brittany grabbed the flowers and bakery box, while Santana not so gracefully dropped everything else on the couch next to a very annoyed looking cat.

"Oh hi. Britt, is this your cat? Well I mean, obviously it's your cat. If not you should probably call someone." Santana chuckled at her joke.

"Yes, ok formal introductions! Santana, this is Lord Tubbington, of the New York Tubbington's. He is the best cat in the whole world. He's also my best friend. We tell eachother everything. He is very excited that you came to meet him. He asked me to put on his fanciest collar for you!" Brittany leaned down to pick the cat up, pushing his fur to the side so Santana could see the purple satin collar with multi-colored rhinestones.

"Oh. yes, yes that is a lovely collar," Santana played along. "Hi Lord Tubbington, I am Santana Lopez, of the umm... Ohio Lopez's." Santana looked at a beaming Brittany and shrugged. "Oh wait, I have something for him." Santana started rummaging around one of the many bags on the couch, finally producing a small pink mouse toy with different colored streamers for a tail. "It's a cat toy." Santana blushed holding the mouse out by its tail towards the cat. Santana could not believe she had not only bought a toy for a cat, but that she was actually presenting it to said cat. Lord Tubbington brought his paw up, and Santana placed the toy in front of him like an offering to a plump deity. He put his paw down on top of it, smelled it and nodded.

"Did your cat just nod at me?" Santana asked with a mixture of confusion, horror, and intrigue.

"Oh yeah, he's being shy otherwise he would have thanked you verbally. Come on, dinner is almost ready." Brittany grabbed Santana's hand and pulled her into the kitchen.

"Oh wait, I got some things for you also! Well you already saw the flowers, and that box has dessert in it and somewhere on the couch is a bottle of wine, unless of course the cat got to it already." Santana laughed.

"Oh, you're right. Let me go grab that, he used to have a drinking problem." Brittany ran into the living room to grab the bottle of wine, leaving Santana standing in the middle of the kitchen wondering what strange land she had crossed over into. Maybe she'd hit her head when she ran into Quinn.

"Ok back, here can you open this while I finish up dinner? It's pasta, I hope that's ok," Brittany said, handing Santana the wine and corkscrew. Santana pretended to ignore the small claw marks around the foil on the bottle as she tore it off . Santana grabbed some wine glasses from the cabinet Brittany pointed to while Brittany plated their dinner. They sat close to each other, Brittany appreciating that Santana was left handed so they could sit close and not worry about bumping elbows.

"We fit really well, we're not bumping elbows or anything." Brittany observed, causing Santana to lean over and place a soft kiss to her lips.

"Yes, we do. Britt, I really like you and I'm really glad this is moving forward and I want to know if you will officially be my girlfriend." Santana shoved a fork full of spaghetti in her mouth to hide her embarrassment.

"Yes! Of course I will San! I'm so happy," Brittany turned to give Santana a big hug, both women sat with big grins on their faces for the rest of the meal. They chatted about how excited Brittany was to work with Blaine and how Santana had a big court appearance for the Tina Chang case coming up.

"Oh by the way, I had coffee with Rachel yesterday. She said Quinn has been acting really weird. Do you think she's been acting any different lately?" Brittany asked with a concerned look.

"Actually, on my way out of the office today I was trying to carrying all my stuff and I accidentally knocked her over. She was such a bitch about it. I kept saying I was sorry and trying to help her up, but she completely ignored me and stalked off." Santana shook her head taking a sip of wine. "I mean, I was really worried that I'd hurt her, I knocked her down pretty hard and she just got up and walked away. So I said something to her and we got into a bit of a fight in the hall." Santana thought back to the incident. "Now that I think about it, she looked sad, like she'd been crying."

"I don't want Quinn to cry." Brittany said sadly.

"She's been nothing but rude to me for the last five years, but you know, I don't like or want to see someone cry. I just wish I knew why she has such a problem with me. She's so smart and she's very good at what she does, I feel like if we put aside whatever it is that is negative between us we could be good coworkers and maybe even friends. A couple of years ago I was in her office and saw that she had just bought a huge new coffee table book on Battery Park, downtown. I love that place. I've read up on all the memorials there and any other information I can get my hands on and I really wanted to talk to her about it. I thought maybe it would be a good way to start a conversation that didn't revolve around work. The second I mentioned it she turned bright red and spat at me to get out of her office. Since then I haven't tried to start a non-work related conversation with her." Santana finished off her plate and got up for seconds, giving herself and Brittany more pasta and topping of their wine glasses.

"There is obviously something eating away at her, it's so sad. Rachel is pretty fun once she calms down, I want to be able to hang out with her more." Brittany said, while getting up to place some pasta in Lord Tubbington's bowl. "Maybe you should try talking to her again, I know you have a bad relationship but you should really try and figure out what the problem is. It can't be easy for either of you to work surrounded by all the hostility. Despite barely speaking to each other you do amazing work together. Imagine how awesome you guys would be if you were getting along. You'd be the most super lawyer duo in the City!" Brittany clapped.

"It's true, we do work really well together on a technical level. But you know, I'm already the most super lawyer on my own!" Santana stood up, mocking the Superman stance causing Brittany to choke on her wine.

Once Brittany started breathing after laughing so hard she became serious again. She wanted Quinn and Santana to be friends and if not friends, then at least civil. "Well, I think you should go talk to Quinn on Monday. Make her talk to you." Brittany demanded as best she could while slurping up the last of her spaghetti.

"I'll try, but I can't guarantee she'll be receptive," Santana answered back, swiping some sauce off of Brittany's bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. "So, shall we open up the tart for dessert?" Santana motioned towards the box on the counter.

"Actually, now that we're girlfriends I thought we could celebrate with a little something else for dessert," Brittany winked and started walking towards the back of the apartment.

"Oh." Was once again all Santana could muster while running to catch up to Brittany.

When Monday rolled around Santana was not pleased that she'd promised Brittany she would speak with Quinn. She knew it would probably not end well, but Brittany really wanted them to get along and that's all the motivation Santana needed. Santana ran downstairs and bought Quinn her favorite coffee drink knowing she was going to need all the help she could get in sweetening Quinn up. Quinn's drink order was one of the few things Santana knew about her boss even after working together for five years. As Santana stood at the counter she contemplated asking the barista to add a shot of Bourbon to her coffee and a sedative to Quinn's but she held her tongue. Once again upstairs, Santana took a deep breath, thought about running the other way, and reluctantly knocked on Quinn's door. "Come in."

Santana awkwardly pried the door open with her elbow, pushing it the rest of the way with her foot. "Hi, Quinn. I...I brought you coffee," Santana mumbled realizing she never really thought about how this was going to go and definitely not knowing what she was going to say next.

"You just randomly brought me coffee?" Quinn asked with no discernible tone.

"Well, yes but no. I thought maybe we could talk." Santana walked over to Quinn, holding out her coffee peace-offering.

Quinn wanted to throw the coffee out, along with with Santana, but remembered she had told Rachel she would handle this situation and now seemed like as good a time as any. She took the cup of coffee without making eye contact. "Alright, I've been meaning to speak with you about something anyway. Please have a seat on the couch." Quinn motioned across her spacious office to a couch facing two large matching chairs.

They walked across the office in silence, Santana taking a seat on the side of the couch across from the chair Quinn had chosen. Between the seats was a short wooden coffee table displaying the book on the Battery, a large photography book featuring black and white photos of United States landscapes, and a hardcover book analyzing the Supreme Court case of Mapp v. Ohio. Santana was taken aback by the fact that if she were to choose three books to display in her office, it would most likely be those three books exactly. She, and apparently Quinn, could pretty much be summed up in those three books. Santana realized that she was probably staring at the books for longer than necessary and looked up at Quinn who had, what Santana thought, an expression of hope on her face.

"I really like your coffee table books. Mapp v. Ohio is one of my favorite Supreme Court cases, even though I disagree with the majority." Santana laughed, surprised by the smirk playing on Quinn's lips.

"I know you do. I also know that you know a lot about the history of Downtown, New York and that you like to walk down to the Battery when you need to clear your head. That you like to eat waffles and ice cream when you are drunk. Specifically, both vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

"What? How could you possible know all of that? We've never said more than four non-work related words to each other." Santana wasn't angry, just very confused. Those were personal details that no one else knew. "Have you seen me walking downtown? How did you know about the ice cream?" Santana was getting flustered, she suddenly felt like she was under a spotlight.

"You honestly swear that you have no idea how I know those things?," Quinn asked suspiciously.

"No, Quinn I truly don't. I mean, maybe I've spoken about the Mapp case during work. But I know I've never ever told anyone about my walks." Santana was trying hard to think about how Quinn could have found out about those things. She took a long drink of her coffee, really wishing it was laced with bourbon, and trying to buy time.

"You really don't remember," Quinn said, looking sad again.

"Remember what? Please tell me what you're talking about, Quinn." Santana pleaded.

"Your 1L year, my 3L year, we met at a party I was there with my co-worker who happened to know people from your law school. We talked for hours, Santana. All night long. We talked until the sun came up. We ate, you had waffles and ice cream. We walked down to the tip of the island and talked about all the memorials there. We watched the sun rise. You...you kissed me." Quinn looked away, not wanting Santana to see the tears in her eyes.

Santana meanwhile was having a little trouble breathing. "I what?!" Santana stood up, pacing the area between the couch and coffee table. "We knew each other before work? During law school?" How could I not remember that?" Santana was feeling a bit light headed and sat back down. "Honestly Quinn, I didn't know any of this. How could I not know any of this? We've kissed?!"

"You were really drunk, but so was I, and I remember." Quinn spoke, barely above a whisper, trying but unable to stop a few large tears from sliding down her pale cheeks.

"Why haven't you ever said anything?" Santana asked, trying to piece everything together.

"There's more. A few months later some of my coworkers friends were going out for drinks at a bar. I went hoping I would run into you. You were there, I was so excited. I really thought we had a connection. You had no idea who I was. I was crushed." Quinn stood up to get the tissues from her desk, handing one to Santana before sitting back down. "I was completely crushed Santana."

"Quinn..." Santana wiped her own tears. "I had no idea. I mean if I was drunk and some time passed I can't help that I didn't remember. I'm sorry."

"I know, but I was drunk also and I remember every single detail. That night meant a lot to me. Before that I didn't have very many friends, and even fewer who I had a lot in common with. And then out of nowhere this beautiful, intelligent, open person came into my life and in an instant we clicked. We had a connection. She made me feel less alone, less anxious, less heavy and then, she had no idea who I fucking was the next time I saw her." Quinn picked up her coffee from the table, unable to take a drink but welcoming the feeling of the hot cup in her hands. "This happened years ago, your 1L year Santana. That's almost eight years. This happened eight years ago and it still colors every personal relationship I have. I am always wondering if I am so forgettable or invisible to everyone I meet. It hurt all the more that I had shared parts of myself that I hadn't divulged to anyone, not even my closest friends."

"You've been so angry with me all these years." Santana said under her breath, realization finally hitting her. "You've been so angry with me because we had this moment and I didn't remember. The experience made you feel worthless, didn't it?" Santana turned away from Quinn, wiping more tears.

"Yes."

"I don't know what to say Quinn. I can't apologize enough. You've been carrying this around with you all these years. I'm sad that I don't remember our night, because it sounds like we really did have a connection. I missed out on the aftermath of that as well, but I didn't have the emotional burden to accompany it." Santana and Quinn just stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Quinn spoke.

"Rachel knows. I told her last night. After we fought in the hall, I just couldn't hold it in any longer. She pushed me to tell you." Quinn finally took a sip of her coffee, unable to contain the small smile that played upon her lips when she tasted her favorite drink. "Thank you for the coffee, by the way."

"You're welcome. Do you think we could try to start over? Friendship-wise at least. I'm sure even after all of this, the wound is still sore, probably more so now that it's been reopened. But I think if we can get past this we could be really great friends. Plus, Rachel and Brittany seem to really like each other." Santana smiled.

"So it's true. You and Brittany are dating?" Quinn cocked an infamous eyebrow.

"Yeah. We are." Santana looked down at her coffee.

"It's ok. I'm sad to see her go, she was a great asset. But it is against the rules to date within the office. You did the right thing." Quinn nodded her approval.

"Thank you. And I guess you and Rachel are getting pretty serious also?" Santana said, hoping they were on their way to lightening the mood and moving away from the past.

"Yes, we are. She's very special. She's the first person I've really..." Quinn stopped herself, glancing out the window. "The first person I've felt a connection to that overwhelms the one I felt that night eight years ago." Quinn looked down in embarrassment.

"I'm really glad you told me all of this. I'm not sorry it happened because it was obviously a really special night for both of us, but I'm sorry it happened this way. I guess both of us working here was just fate's' way of trying to push us together again, right?" Santana offered.

"Yeah. That's true. I like that." Quinn smiled, allowing her shoulders to relax for the first time. "Rachel is going to be very happy we talked this out. She hates when people are sad." Quinn laughed.

"Yeah, Brittany also. I'll tell her everything later, she should know. Is it too soon for the four of us to have dinner together? Maybe this weekend, once Brittany knows?" Santana asked hopefully. She really wanted to start getting to know Quinn better, but thought it was too soon for just the two of them to go out.

"No, I don't think it's too soon. I think that would be nice." Quinn stood up and walked to her desk. "Let's plan on Friday night. I know this really great Mediterranean place in Brooklyn," Quinn joked.

Santana laughed hoping this time, her dinner at that restaurant would be a little less dramatic. "Yeah, ok. I think Rachel and Brittany will like that very much." Santana stood up, she wasn't sure if it was appropriate, given their recent conversation, but she felt like it was needed. She walked over to where Quinn was standing and stopped short a few inches, facing her. Santana opened up her arms, with an invitation she hoped would be accepted. Santana could see a second of hesitation on Quinn's face before it was taken over by a smile. Quinn slowly leaned into Santana's open arms, mimicking the action herself. They stood like that, hugging in silence, for almost a minute. Quinn allowed herself one last tear as Santana pulled around her tighter, whispering a final "I'm sorry."

The rest of Santana's day went by fairly quickly, she left a little early, not being able to wait any longer to see Brittany. She raced up to Blaine's firm hoping to catch Brittany as she was leaving the building. Sure enough, not ten minutes after Santana arrived, Brittany came skipping out.

"Hi San! What are you doing here?" Brittany jumped into Santana's arms.

"Hi baby, I just couldn't wait to see you again. I spoke to Quinn, I'll explain everything later but just so you know I think we are on the way to mending our relationship. We are having dinner with them on Friday." Santana spun Brittany around, kissing her hard.

"That's great news! How about we go home and celebrate?" Brittany winked again.

"You and that wink are going to be the death of me, you know that?" Santana kissed her again as they started off towards the train. Santana thinking that she was likely to never wake up cranky again.


End file.
